Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

Susceptibility mapping

Abstract

"The Plateau region of Ethiopia lies within a seismically active continental extensional regime, which is being rapidly incised by the Blue Nile and the Tekeze Rivers. Extremely large landslides pose serious hazards in this highly populated region (>27 million), which is in the process of developing its hydrologic resources. This research sought to develop cost-effective methods to compile regional landslide inventory and landslide susceptibility maps, using geomorphic tools and GIS technologies. This work also sought to evaluate the relationships between landslide dams and knickpoints, caused by channel bed incision from those caused by slope failures, by utilizing identified knickpoints along 56 tributary channels across the study area. The study employed the weighted overlay technique to produce regional landslide susceptibility hazard maps, and for the first time, employing wind-driven and integrated rainfall/aspect rasters at various inclination to more realistically model the actual precipitation that is felt by hillsides of varying azimuth, shape, and height. Landslides greater than 500m long were tentatively identified on 1:200,000 topographic maps draped over 30m hill-shade generated ASTER GDEMv2. The mapping revealed different types of landslides, and also revealed a considerable number of old, dormant landslide features. The use of wind-driven rainfall with integrated rainfall and aspect rasters provided a much more detailed and asymmetric distribution of precipitation. Spatial distribution of the very high and high hazard areas, during the Kermit and Belg rainy seasons by a range of 0.38% for an inclination of 40º and 1.7% for inclinations on 60º, as compared to the traditional assumption of 90º vertical rainfall, without integration of a slope aspect raster"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Rogers, J. David

Committee Member(s)

Usery, E. Lynn (Eddy Lynn), 1951-
Abdel Salam, Mohamed G.
Anderson, Neil L.(Neil Lennart), 1954-
Maerz, Norbert H.

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Geological Engineering

Sponsor(s)

Missouri University of Science and Technology. Chancellor's Fellowship Program

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Fall 2013

Pagination

xix, 214 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 202-213).

Geographic Coverage

Ethiopia
Ethiopian Plateau

Rights

© 2013 Elamin Hassan Dai Ismail, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Geographic information systemsLandslides -- EthiopiaLandslide hazard analysis -- EthiopiaRain and rainfallMorphotectonics

Thesis Number

T 10400

Electronic OCLC #

870673880

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